


bright eyes with ferocious lights

by aizensosuke



Series: pride + horror 2019 [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Affection, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Character Death, Childhood Memories, M/M, Mild Cannibalism, Mild Gore, Villain Protagonist, heed the warnings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 08:25:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19081228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aizensosuke/pseuds/aizensosuke
Summary: tesla has been preparing for this day since childhood.





	bright eyes with ferocious lights

_ “Tesla. Pesche.” _ Nelliel’s voice crackles through the walkie talkie set up on the security desk, but Tesla does not turn his gaze away from the screen in front of him long enough to look at it.  _ “I need you two to come down and assist me with Specimen Five.” _

Specimen Five. Tesla taps out a string of letters on the keyboard in front of him until one of the many small windows on the monitor before him balloons up to full size. Nelliel tu Odelschvank stands before the cell housing their most infamous and dangerous specimen, her back ramrod straight and her walkie talkie raised to her mouth. Attached to her belt is the pouch of sedatives they must administer to their nocturnal residents to keep them calm when the night hours fall lest they rouse the entire facility with their actions.

Tonight, it is Nelliel’s turn to quiet their nighttime specimens.

Before Pesche can pick up the walkie to reply, Tesla snatches it off of its resident stand and raises it to his lips. When Pesche opens his mouth to speak, Tesla shoots him a look that shuts him up before he addresses Nelliel. “What’s going on with Specimen Five?”

_ “He’s curled up in the corner of his cell and he won’t come over here.” _ The annoyance in Nelliel’s voice is clear. She has never liked Specimen Five.  _ “He’s the last one I had to hit and the minute I walked toward him, he pulled this. Can you come give me backup?” _

Distantly, Tesla wonders if Specimen Five hates her as much as she hates him. “Do you want us to bring any weapons with us? I don’t recall his record being spotless.”

_ “You should probably bring a rifle,” _ Nelliel admits, and Tesla hums in understanding.

“I’ll be right there. Sit tight.” Tesla sets the walkie back down and stands, stretching his arms over his head, pulling all of the muscles in his back to work the stiffness out of them.

“Never had a night go by where he doesn’t give us some kind of trouble,” Pesche mutters while making no move to stand himself, obviously intent on taking his sweet time getting up to help. He dislikes Specimen Five just as much as Nelliel. “Should just put him down.”

The corner of Tesla’s mouth twitches. “You really think that? We’d get in so much trouble.”

“Valuable specimen or not, he’s tr—” Pesche goes rigid the second one of Tesla’s hands slips into his hair, the other gripping him by the chin. “Oy, Tesla, what the hell are you do—”

He never has a chance to finish the question, though Tesla is kind enough to answer it for him just the same. One quick twist of his arms, forearms and biceps flexing with the effort, and Pesche’s neck snaps. The sound is sudden, jarring, but clean. His body falls limp against the back of his chair and Tesla adjusts him so that he does not slide out for the time being. He takes a deep breath and picks up the walkie once more.

“Apologies, Nel,” he says, “but Pesche just ran off to the bathroom. I suppose something he must have eaten at lunch must have gotten to him. Would you like me to come down?”

_ “Son of a bitch.” _ Nelliel sighs, and Tesla can hear the plaintive annoyance in her voice. He watches the monitor as she adjusts her grip on the walkie, running a hand through her ponytail. It is a tic of hers, one that shows irritation.  _ “Yes, please. Bring the big one since you have to come alone. I’m going to ream his ass for running off like this.” _

Tesla chuckles softly. “Noted. I’ll be at your location in a few moments.”

There are several rifles kept locked in a case in the security room, though most of them are relatively standard issue as far as firearms go. They are used only to incapacitate as needed with the strict warning that damaging any specimen to a degree that could not be healed adequately would result in strict penalties and possibly termination. In contrast, one particular rifle has the firepower necessary to take a specimen’s head clean off in a startling display of viscera. They reserve this one for the most dangerous specimens.

They were given strict instructions only to use it in a life or death situation.

After checking to make sure the rifle is loaded, Tesla slings it over his shoulder, assures himself that Pesche is still in place, and starts down the long hallway that will take him to where Nelliel is waiting with their troublesome Specimen Five.

There is nothing particularly noteworthy about their job. Tesla has a spotless record as far as past employment goes and has been working various high-level security details for most of his life. With recommendations from some of the most notable officials in their line of work, he passed inspection and the interview process with relative ease and found himself assigned to facility fifteen in less than three months.

Each specimen locked within their individual cell is dangerous enough to be contained away from the rest of civilization, and the most dangerous are confined to a single high-security corridor set a fair distance away from the others and especially the security office. There is only a single door that leads in and out of the building, and the security office stands between the door and the corridor ensuring that no specimen will be able to escape without clawing their way through them first. Tesla has never minded this set-up.

It takes approximately ten minutes to make the journey from their office to Nelliel’s side.

“Thank God  _ one _ of you knows our job is serious.” Nelliel is in a foul mood judging by the way her features are twisted. She glances at him for only a moment before turning her eyes back to the cell in front of her. “Let’s get in there, get this over with, and get back.”

Tesla’s eyes drift toward the cell bars. The light from the corridor, harsh and fluorescent, spills into the shadows just enough for him to make out the pale shape curled up small in the corner, head tucked into knees. “This is the first time he’s done this.”

“I know. I’m not looking forward to him making a habit of it.” Nelliel shakes her head, removing the ring of keys at her hip and holding them up. “He’s been on his best behavior the last few weeks. I guess I should have expected something like this.”

“No faith in any of them, huh?” Tesla asks, slipping the rifle from his shoulder and into his hands, testing the weight of the butt as he watches Nelliel walk toward the door.

Specimen Five is notorious; Tesla has heard horror stories about the night he was brought in, heavily sedated and restrained so that he could be transported into his cell with as little struggle as possible. He was hunted down after his killing swathe hit triple digits and the Spanish government could no longer look the other way; Tesla only knows faint details and what he has seen with his own eyes since coming to work here.

As if sensing Tesla’s gaze on him, Specimen Five slowly lifts his head and peers at him.

“Oh?” Nelliel rattles the ring of keys, and the creature flinches. “So now you’re responsive. Well, I’ve already given you the chance to make this easy on all of us. It’s too late now.”

Tesla adjusts his grip on the gun, ensuring that it will not slip from his grip. “Ready.”

Nelliel does not spare a glance back at him; Tesla has been easily trusted ever since he came to work here and nobody looks twice at him anymore. Nondescript except for the eyepatch—  _ You know how our line of work is _ — he fulfills his duties with ease and makes sure everything is handled as quickly and efficiently as possible. Though Nelliel has never said it in so many words, she trusts him to have her back when it matters.

Too bad, all things considered. Tesla rather liked working with her. Her sharp humor and wit made him smile on days when the shift felt like it lasted an extra eight hours.

When the cell door swings inward, Tesla takes three smooth and silent steps forward and brings the butt of the rifle down on the top of her skull. The sound of bone cracking fills the corridor, and the soft rustling around them— the occupants shifting in sleep or otherwise waiting for sunrise— goes dead silent. Nelliel seems to hover on her feet for just a moment before she falls forward, her body crumpling like a puppet cut loose from its strings. The butt of the rifle is sticky with blood when Tesla examines it.

Specimen Five— Nnoitra Gilga— examines Tesla from his corner for a long, silent moment before he stretches his impossibly long legs out in front of him. “Who the fuck are you?”

“My apologies for keeping you waiting for so long. These things take time and finesse. No mistakes could be made.” Tesla steps over Nelliel’s body, pauses, then glances at Nnoitra once more. “I believe you need to eat. Please do so quickly so we can leave.”

No one has ever thought twice about allowing Tesla to examine the files of this establishment though they should have. It took him only three weeks to learn they were filtering what Nnoitra ate to ensure he had enough protein to survive but never enough to thrive, and it itched beneath his skin, buzzing away at his nerves until he decided the first order of business was to ensure Nnoitra was strong enough to walk away under his own power. After all, they made him feel like a prisoner long enough.

Nnoitra has to drag himself over to Nelliel’s body; Tesla does not bother to do her the courtesy of checking for a pulse. If she is alive, she is unconscious. She will feel nothing. “Is this a trap? You gonna clock me like that the second you get a chance to do so?”

“Of course not.” Tesla drops his hand on top of Nnoitra’s head, right between the wicked curves of his white bone horns. “I came to help you. Now hurry and eat so we can leave.”

“Fine then.” Nnoitra ignores him now in favor of the meal laid out in front of him.

Tesla is good with a rifle. He checks and rechecks it while Nnoitra eats, the wet tearing of flesh and the cracking of bone familiar enough to his ears that he no longer registers it as odd or horrifying. The first time he came upon Nnoitra feasting, he doubled over vomiting for a solid twenty minutes and nearly dry-heaved himself unconscious while Nnoitra watched. Now, he merely sighs at just how much time Nnoitra is taking.

By the time he finishes, his mouth is wet with blood, lips streaked with brilliant scarlet as he looks up at Tesla. His eye burns vivid lavender while the teeth stretching over the black hole of his other socket seem to flutter slightly in greeting. “I’m done.”

“Good.” Tesla does not need to check the time. He made sure they would have enough time to escape and put plenty of miles between themselves and the facility. “We should go now.”

He offers Nnoitra his hand, paying no mind to the bloody handprints left behind on the stark white sleeve of his uniform as Nnoitra uses Tesla to heave himself to his feet. Even with fresh meat, he still wavers uncertainly, all of his hands finding some place on Tesla’s body to settle. His shoulder, his arm, his waist, his ribs. The other two carefully cradle Nnoitra’s head, as if an ache is beginning to form beneath his skull.

Tesla would believe that. He has been deprived of proper nutrients for too long.

“Can you walk?” He keeps his voice pitched low, stepping forward, hands moving to Nnoitra’s small waist. The dense muscle there has considerably lightened; his jaw clenches.

“Dunno.” Nnoitra takes a tentative step forward, his laughter a soft hiss through his teeth. “Don’t think so. Nice of you to bring me a fresh meal, though.”

Tesla considers, then slings the rifle over his shoulder once more. “That’s fine. I was prepared to carry you if I had to. You didn’t weigh that much then.”

“And not much now.” Nnoitra leans down until their foreheads touch; Tesla can smell blood on his tongue. “Who the hell are you? Some knight in shining armor? I don’t know you.”

“I am well aware, but I know you. I’ve known you ever since I was a child. I worked very hard to find you.” For the time being, Tesla leans up and plants a kiss squarely on Nnoitra’s sharp nose and away from the gore on his mouth. “I’ll carry you out if you want me to.”

Nnoitra’s eye narrows, though Tesla is uncertain still if it is meant to be in pleasure or in distrust. Either way, Nnoitra leans into him, letting Tesla bear his weight. “Don’t drop me.”

“I won’t.” Tesla has to budge at Nnoitra’s long body to get the proper angle to allow him to lift Nnoitra from the ground. He weighs so little compared to what he should.

“Who are you?” Nnoitra’s voice is more demanding now that he has been fed properly, and he looks sullen as he carefully settles a pair of arms around Tesla’s shoulders to hold himself steady in Tesla’s arms. “I don’t know you. I’ve never seen you before. I would—”

Tesla cuts him off smoothly as he carries him out of the cell, stepping over the remains of Nelliel’s body he chose not to consume. Her hair, most of her bones, though plenty of them have been cracked open, the marrow sucked out. “I know that. But I know you. You wiped out most of my town before you were captured. I was one of five people left behind.”

“Oh.” Nnoitra leans back to look down at him. Even in Tesla’s arms, his height is impressive. Even weak and trembling from fatigue and malnourishment, he seems startlingly dangerous and beautiful. “You come all the way here to get me back because I killed your parents?”

“No. You didn’t kill my parents. You didn’t kill anyone that I cared about. I just… Wanted to get you back.” It took  _ months _ to track own the innocuous uniforms he saw that night, his face pressed against the glass of his bedroom window, listening to Nnoitra’s pitiful cries.

That was thirteen years ago, though Tesla remembers it as though it occurred only the evening prior. Even as a child, he knew that finding Nnoitra and saving him was all he cared about. His entire  _ life _ led to the moment when he would walk into the cell housing the fierce and beautiful creature and free him from the years’ long imprisonment he endured.

Nnoitra huffs down at him. “That is a stupid fucking reason to come this far.”

“And yet it worked.” Tesla allows himself a moment to smile, ever aware of the long fingers that slowly sift through the hair on the nape of his neck. “If you want to kill me, Nnoitra, I suggest you wait until I have you a few kilometers away from the facility.”

“Where did you learn my name? And you still didn’t tell me yours,” Nnoitra insists.

“Tesla Lindocruz is my name.” His surname carries a surreal weight; Nnoitra’s eye widens a touch, the teeth over his empty socket gnashing slightly before they settle once more. “I was ten years old when you were taken from the forest behind my house. Remember now?”

Nnoitra’s head comes to rest against his own; he can feel the warm curl of Nnoitra’s breath against the side of his neck. “Lindocruz. You have your mother’s eyes. Well, eye.”

“Everyone tells me I look like her.” Tesla readjusts his grip on Nnoitra’s body, settling it into a more comfortable place in his arms now that the starch has left Nnoitra’s muscles. “Who else, Nnoitra? Who else would have come so far just to find you?”

“I remember you now.” Of course he does. The name must have jarred the dusty confines of his memory, something he would otherwise have no need to access in such a place. “Brat peeking at me from behind her legs. She always fucking believed I was something special. Tried to make sure no one figured out where I was hiding.”

Tesla smiles faintly. His mother was, indeed, a spectacular woman. “She was right. You are special. Obviously, I can’t take you back there. That’s the first place they’d look.”

“Probably,” Nnoitra agrees. “Don’t care where we go as long as it ain’t here.”

“We’ll find a place. Don’t worry. I have a few in mind.” Tesla walks past the security office for the final time with a slight pang in his chest. The regular paychecks will be missed.

Nnoitra mouths at the side of his neck, and Tesla wonders if he plans on taking a bite. If he is still hungry enough that a savior might look like a snack instead. “For what it’s worth, you weird little human… Thanks. I wasn’t gonna survive in there much longer.”

“I know.” Tesla has to set Nnoitra back on his feet to open the back door of his car, giving Nnoitra the entire backseat to stretch out on as much as someone his size can. “Try to get some rest. It’s going to be a long drive to get away from here in time. There’s meat in the cooler on the floor if you get hungry. Let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

Before he quite backs away in time, Nnoitra reaches up and catches him by the neck of his shirt, drawing him down to eye-level. Tesla expects pain; he does not expect Nnoitra to mime his affection from earlier, pressing a kiss to the side of his nose.

**Author's Note:**

> you can't say i didn't tell you people were gonna die
> 
> //grabs microphone and holds it up to my mouth// it's june 2019 which means it's pride month. i'm gay and trans and i like horror so instead of doing cutesy fluff like i did last year for a different fandom, the theme for this pride is "horror" and "bleach villains" so strap in folks. it's gonna be a bloody ride.


End file.
